Tens of millions of Americans signed up for the original do not call registry. One of the exemptions they may not have known or cared about at the time was regarding political calls. Still another is that registration is good for only five years meaning most people need to sign up again next year.
A new registry to supplement the FTC's list is now operational, and organizers hope that politicians running for hundreds of offices nationally in 2008 begin making use of the non-profit's service. "I started the registry to improve the quality of life for the average American during the election season,” said Shaun Dakin, the registry's founder and CEO.
Dakin cites multiple studies to explain why this kind of registry is necessary. Perhaps the most telling number is that 64 percent of voters received a call (sometimes known as a "robo-call") during the final weeks of the 2006 election according to a Pew Internet market research study. One can only imagine the call frequency increasing during a presidential race.
The best part about the new National Political Do Not Call Registry is its price: free. Voters simply visit the site to register a free political do not call request. Unlike the FTC, this registry cannot force candidates to honor a request, but as Dakin points out, "Political candidates understand numbers."
That they do. If a consumer takes the time to tell a political candidate they don't want to be called, yet they continue receiving calls, one would expect the candidate's vote to be at risk.
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Disclosure: Consumer Help Web co-founder George Bounacos assisted the registry as an advisory board member.
Labels: consumer, do not call, election, stop political calls, telephone
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